Profile

Who we are

Jonathan Holland

Johnny studied Architectural History at UEA, and then Architecture at The Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture. He worked for Porphyrios Associates and Peregrine Bryant before founding Hackett Holland Ltd with Jane in 2001.

He has since collaborated with The Princes Foundation for the Built Environment on several projects, and has now worked on the refurbishment and extension of more than 100 houses.

Johnny maintains a longstanding interest in the preservation of both built and natural environments. He is a keen traveller, photographer and gardener.

Jane Hackett

Jane studied Fine Art/Tapestry and History of Art at Edinburgh. After completing a number of commissions, she spent some years working for a London art dealer and then as a designer. She worked with the Interior Decorator Robert Kime before founding Hackett Holland Ltd with Johnny in 2001.

Jane now divides her time between the London office and her Dorset home where, when not working, she can indulge her passion for animals, antiques and renovation projects.

Scott Waldon

Scott is a Chartered Architect with 20 years experience.

He has worked on prestigious private residential projects, museums and art galleries in Kensington, Chelsea, Belgravia, Piccadilly and Mayfair.

Scott is responsible for navigating projects through Planning Applications and Listed Building Consents and then site supervision during construction, through to completion. He works closely with clients to ensure they are kept abreast of events, and brings a mature guiding hand to all our projects.

His passion for history, travel, historic building conservation and the fine arts nourishes Scott’s work at Hackett Holland.

Gianni Posadino

Gianni studied at the University of Caglairi in his native Sardinia where he gained a Bachelor of Architectural Studies.

After moving to London in 2006 he gained more architectural experience with several UK firms. Gianni has a particular interest in residential architecture, along with developing a strong eye for detail, extensive technical knowledge and a greater understanding of material use.

Since joining Hackett Holland in 2015, Gianni has been working on a number of high end residential refurbishments in central London and in rural areas.

Louisa Askins

Lou has a background in production at the BBC, and directed several television documentaries before taking time out to raise a family and renovate a house.

Lou started a new career as Practice Manager at Hackett Holland in 2009.

Joanna Dabrowska

Joanna studied Interior Architecture in Poland and in London. After experience with a number of Interior and Architecture Practices – and as a freelance designer – Joanna joined Hackett Holland in 2014. She now manages the Interior Decoration department.

Joanna combines her excellent organisational abilities with her design talents to bring our projects to fruition.

Design Philosophy

We believe that good design is not the preserve of any particular style, and our work crosses the boundaries of stylistic definition. Whilst much of our work is traditional we also design in a ‘modern’ manner where appropriate. Our approach is not dogmatic but responsive. This means responding not only to the requirements of our clients, but also to the subtle particularities of the site and the character of it’s surroundings. We react not only to aspect, climate, topography, geology, etc but also to the existing local building traditions.

We hope our buildings have ‘good manners’ in relation to their neighbours and natural setting. We reject the fashionable late 20th Century notion of Architecture as ‘objects in space’. We believe that in the future successful Architecture will be defined as that which responds to its immediate surroundings and to the wider environment in a meaningful way.

Our aim is to create forms and spaces that are beautifully proportioned, considered, responsive, functional, practical and formed using good quality sustainable materials. We believe that this approach is truly modern – in the best sense – and that as the absolute necessity for sustainability becomes recognised on a global level, so ‘industrial’ modernism and current vacuous architectural fashions will become redundant.

Sustainability

Hackett Holland have long been committed to finding sustainable solutions in both old and new buildings. We keep up-to-date with emerging green technologies, and the ever-increasing demands within Building Regulations for energy-efficient buildings.

We recognise that traditional vernacular buildings can provide low-tec solutions to sustainability requirements in new buildings – in both architectural form and construction. Most traditional structures everywhere were by necessity low-energy, re-cycleable, and even ‘bio-degradable’. We find inspiration in the study of vernacular typologies, and aim to build with as many natural and traditional materials as practicable, combined with discrete green technologies.

We do not subscribe to the ‘Eco-functionalist’ approach wherein the brash announcement of green credentials sidelines beauty and ignores traditional cultural reference. We prefer that sustainable technologies are subtly integrated into the whole, rather than taking pre-eminence in a building’s appearance.